Procurement specialist 'unplugs' with his first video game

Dillon Wallace, an alumnus of the College of Computing and Digital Media, works as a procurement specialist in DePaul's department of psychology and just released his first video game, "Funk Unplugged." (Image courtesy of Dillon Wallace)

By day, Dillon Wallace works as a procurement specialist for DePaul's Department of Psychology. By night, he is a video game developer, whose hard work on his dream game is finally paying off. Wallace is a graduate of the DePaul College of Computing and Digital Media and officially released his first video game, "Funk Unplugged," this May.

The idea for "Funk Unplugged" began as a senior capstone project in January of 2015 for Wallace and his team, founding members of the game development company Vamped Games. The team has been working to develop the game since then.

"We all grew up playing 3D Platformers, like Super Mario 64. Sadly, the industry has mostly moved on from this genre of game," Wallace says. "Knowing that people loved these types of games, we thought, 'Why not make it ourselves?'"

"Funk Unplugged" features a protagonist, Ampy, who uses the power of music to stop evil G-bots on a journey through four distinct worlds. The project was funded on Kickstarter and was Greenlit on Stream. Wallace credits his DePaul professors' assistance with his team's success and making the video game possible.

"This wouldn't have been possible without DePaul's help," Wallace says. "Both before and after graduation, Allen Turner and Brian Schrank gave us guidance and assistance."